Written In The Stars
by xanfan
Summary: AU SLASH Response to challenge from Caliadragon. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal. XA eventually
1. Chapter 1 Thank You Miss Edith

Title: Written In The Stars, Part 1 – Thank You Miss Edith.

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing???

Summary: Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: Possible Slash

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends, something, their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Spike awoke slowly, fighting the fog that surrounded his mind, for consciousness. He quickly became aware of three things. One, his hands were tied in front of him. Two, He was sitting on a dirty floor, leaning back against an equally dirty wall. Three, someone was leaning up against his shoulder. Oh, and four, Spike hurt, a lot.

He looked at the dark head resting on his shoulder and realized that it was Xander, whose hands were also tied in front of him.

Xander was still unconscious, and that concerned Spike a bit. He shifted the boy down, so his head was resting on Spike's lap.

Spike tried to remember how they had gotten there.

Spike had been living with Xander, off and on, for two months. Sometimes it felt like two years, make that two hundred years.

Okay, so it wasn't all that bad. Maybe, not really bad at all. The two of them actually got along pretty well, much to the amazement and consternation of the rest of the scoobies.

Their maturity level was actually pretty similar, i.e., outwardly they showed very little maturity, but, inwardly, they both had been forced to grow up too fast, by circumstances out of their control.

Not to say they didn't have their disagreements or all out battles, but they were mostly on the level of sibling teasing and bickering, instead of real animosity.

So, even if they didn't admit it to anyone else, they were actually becoming pretty good friends.

Buffy and Willow, when they took the time to notice, were not pleased with this development. Buffy was mad because Xander had always been mean to Angel because he was a vampire, but, was making friends with Spike, even though he didn't have a soul. Willow was mad because her best friend had a new friend, that he spent more time with than he spent with her. (It didn't matter that she didn't really have time, with school and everything, to spend with Xander outside of Scooby meetings)

Giles was more bemused by their growing friendship than anything else, but mostly, he was just glad Spike was no longer living in his bathtub.

Xander and Spike liked to be paired together on patrols. For Spike, he found the boy's snarky comments to be entertaining and enjoyed verbally sparing with him. Xander liked the whole verbal sparing thing too, but mostly, he liked that Spike let him help fight the bad guys, without telling him to stay out of the way like Buffy and Willow did. And, Spike was showing him some fighting techniques, so he was actually getting pretty good.

So, they were out on patrol one evening and Spike was giving Xander a lecture on why the Sex Pistols were one of the greatest bands ever. Xander was trying to ignore the lecture. They were in a cemetery on the south side of town and it was a pretty slow night.

Xander turned to say something to him and just then, he saw the boy's eyes go wide and his mouth open to shout an answer, when he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, before his world went dark.

So here he was in a dank, windowless room. He looked down at Xander and realized the boy had bruises and cuts all over his face and probably under his clothes too. _What had happened to the boy? He didn't have those injuries before Spike had been knocked out._

Spike evaluated his own condition and concluded that his head throbbed with pain and the rest of him was covered in cuts and bruises. Had he been regularly feeding on human blood, the wounds would probably have already been on there way to healed. But, he had been bagging it, and on pig's blood no less, for some time now. So, his vampiric healing abilities were slow, he probably wouldn't heal much faster than the Whelp. And speaking of Xander, the boy must have fought with whatever had hit Spike, and fought hard from the looks of him. Spike was once again reminded of the loyalty and fierce protectiveness Xander showed for people he considered friends. Spike was honored to be in that category.

Spike was startled when he felt a familiar presence was near. Someone from his vampire family was near, more specifically, Dru was near. _What was his Dark Princess doing here? Was she part of what happened to them?_

There were sounds of fighting and death from outside the room they were in. Spike could not tell who was winning or losing, or even who was fighting. But, if he knew Dru, she was involved somehow.

The door to their room/dank whole/dungeon suddenly opened and a familiar figure walked through.

"Spikey, the stars told me you were in trouble; Miss Edith said I should come help you. She also said the Kitten was with you and that he had tried to protect you and was hurt, that I should help you both." Drusilla said, with the usual vague air about her. "Oh, and I can't eat the Kitten either."

She leaned down and tore the bindings from their wrists.

"Give Miss Edith and the stars my thanks. Now, let's get out of here. I'm pretty sure I could walk, but, I can't carry the boy." Spike was trying to figure out the logistics of getting them both out, not sure that he could trust Dru, especially with the Whelp, but, not really seeing any alternative.

"Don't worry Spike. I'll take care of you both. You need to save your strength." With that, Drusilla picked them both up, one over each shoulder and turned to leave the room. "You know how testy you get around Daddy, especially when he has that yucky soul."

"What do you mean? Is the Poof here?" Spike was annoyed at being carried like a sack of potatoes and in more than a little pain from his injuries. Okay, he was in a great deal of pain and he wasn't sure that being upside down was helping his head injury. He struggled to stay conscious and focus on Dru's words.

"No silly, I'm taking you to see Daddy so he can take care of you and Kitten. The stars and Miss Edith agree. He will take good care of you both."

Spike began to loose consciousness, but, not before Dru's words hit him. _Oh, Bloody Hell! _


	2. Chapter 2 Family Visit

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 2 – Family Visit**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing?

Summary: Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Angel sat at his desk, scrunched down in his chair, staring at the ceiling. Some, like his associates hanging out at Cordelia's desk not far from outside his door, might say that he was brooding. He wasn't. Really. Truth be told, he was bored. B-O-R-E-D. Cordy hadn't had a vision in days. They had no clients. He was bored. _I wish something would happen._

Luckily, no vengeance demons were hanging around right then. However, fate and the world still had their ears open, just waiting to lay the smackdown on people who said and thought things like that. It was worse than saying, "What's the worse that could happen?" or "It's really slow tonight."

Angel sat up in his chair, he felt something coming, or rather someone. At least one of his childer was near. As the feeling intensified, he realized that it was, in fact, two of his childer. _Did Spike hook himself back up with Dru?_

He stepped out into the outer office.

"What's up bossman?" Cordy asked, not hiding the boredom she had been battling all day.

When Angel didn't answer, Wesley tried. "Angel, is something wrong?"

Angel continued to stare at the door to their office.

Cordy and Wesley looked at each other in concern, then, each surreptitiously reached for stakes they kept handy for weird or Angelousy situations.

Angel felt his childer nearing, as they got closer, he picked up another smell. Blood, at least two different kinds, blood from one of his childer and human blood. At first, Angel wondered if they had just come from feeding, then he realized that the blood was fresh, like, from the source fresh. It was also familiar. He just couldn't place why it was familiar.

Angel tensed, the door to his office opened. He was shocked at the sight before him.

Dru entered the office, maneuvering carefully through the door, so that she didn't disturb her burdens too much. And burdens they were, she was caring two bodies, one over each shoulder.

The Angel Investigations crew froze, not sure what was going on. Dru made her way to the couch in the corner and deposited her cargo carefully, before straightening and turning to Angel.

Cordy gasped in shock, Angel turned to see what, beyond the weirdness of the scene, had caused the reaction. One of the men Dru had carried into the room was Spike, you could tell because, beneath the blood, his platinum bleached, blonde hair could be seen. His face and body were covered in bruises and cuts. The other man, battered and beaten and…._Xander?_

"Daddy, the stars told me that Spike and the Kitten were in trouble. Miss Edith told me to go get them and bring them here, so that you could take care of them." Dru said proudly, and then a look of concern crossed her face. _Concern?_ "Daddy, I think something is wrong with the Kitten, on the inside. He didn't wake up at all when I brought him here and I smell more blood than he has on the outside." Dru said, with uncharacteristic clarity.

Angel focused on the boy, opening up his senses. And he smelt it, and heard it. Blood was pooling somewhere on the inside of the boy. That was bad.

"Cordy, call an ambulance, tell them we found someone who had been beaten and we think he may have internal injuries." Cordy rushed to make the call, her hands shaking.

"Dru, where are you going?" Angel asked, when he saw the vampire headed out the door.

"The stars say I am done here. I brought you Spike and the Kitten to take care of and now, I can go back to my jungle and be with my new love." Dru said simply, then turned and left.

Angel was stunned for a moment, then turned to Wesley, "Help me get Spike downstairs."

Wesley balked. "We're going to help the vampire that tried to kill you several months ago?"

"He didn't try to kill me, he just had me tortured, there's a difference. Willow says he has a chip now; it prevents him from hurting humans. And, he can't be up here when the paramedics get here. Never mind, I can get him downstairs by myself. You stay up here and help Cordy direct traffic, when the emergency personnel get here."

Angel picked up his shockingly light childe and carried him down the stairs. He laid Spike on his bed and quickly set about drinking as much blood as he had on hand. The only way Spike was going to heal quickly, from the state he was in, was if he had sire's blood. Angel went to the bedroom, bit open his wrist and held it to Spike's mouth. The blond vampire's instincts took over and he began to feed. It didn't take that much sire's blood to jumpstart his healing, so Angel removed his wrist from Spike's grasp. The younger vampire quickly fell into a healing sleep/coma that would last several hours.

Angel left Spike a note and went upstairs.

The paramedics had arrived and were working to stabilize the boy. They soon had him loaded onto the gurney and headed out towards the ambulance. Cordy was elected to accompany Xander to the hospital, while Angel and Wesley would meet them there.

When they, Angel and Wesley arrived at the hospital, they found Cordelia standing outside an exam room crying and looking in while doctor's and nurses swarmed over Xander.

"How is he?" Angel asked quietly.

"Not good, they said he is bleeding internally and has been for awhile, but they're not sure where he is bleeding from, so they will need to do exploratory surgery to find and repair the damage."

Suddenly, an alarm sounded from one of the machines that had been hooked up to Xander and the hospital staff called for a crash cart and began CPR.

Angel caught a nurse who was leaving the room, "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, I can't…." The nurse words halted when she saw Angel's eyes flash yellow. "His heart stopped beating; he has lost a lot of blood. They're trying to resuscitate him now. If they are successful, they'll rush him into surgery to find and stop the bleeding." The nurse swiftly left, to continue whatever task she had been assigned.

Angel, Cordy and Wesley stood there, stunned. They could only watch as Xander was worked on, cringing when his body arched, at being shocked with the paddles.

Angel's vampire hearing picked up one doctor's voice as he muttered to his colleague, "Well have to call it soon. One more shock, if he doesn't come back, I'm declaring him."

Angel had watched enough television to know that this meant, that if Xander's heart didn't start beating after the next shock, they were going to declare him dead.

He watched, as the doctor's shocked Xander with the paddles again. He waited for the boy's heart to start beating.

And he waited.


	3. Chapter 3 I Hate Hospitals

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 3 – I Hate Hospitals**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing?

Summary: Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Time froze for Angel, as he waited for Xander's heart to start beating again.

He knew that he would outlive the humans he surrounded himself with, and he had already lost Doyle, but this….Xander had survived so much, faced so much. The thought that he might not survive this time, was inconceivable.

It seemed like an eternity before he heard a weak thump, indicating that last shock had been successful.

The medical personnel hurried to get Xander ready to transport to the O.R. and soon he was whisked away, so they could try and stop the bleeding.

There was nothing to do now, but wait.

They had discovered a note in Xander's wallet with a list of people who were authorized to make medical decisions for him. In addition to Giles, Joyce, Willow and Buffy, the list also had Cordy's name on it. Hell, even Spike and Angel's names were on the list. No one ever said the boy didn't plan ahead.

When the doctor came out of the O.R. hours later, he told them that they had managed to find and stop the internal bleeding in time. His liver and a kidney had both been bleeding. They were also concerned about his other injuries. He had obviously been beaten severely. They had sutured all his various cuts, and set his dislocated shoulder. They were going to order a CAT scan to see if there was any damage from the blows he had taken to the head.

Basically, time would tell if he was going to be all right and they weren't promising anything.

After the doctor left, Cordy turned to Angel, for once, speechless. He didn't know what else to do, so he just gathered her in his arms. She went into his arms willingly and began to sob on his shoulder. Wesley awkwardly patted her shoulder, in a comforting gesture.

The three of them were silent, except for Cordelia's sobs, all lost in their own thoughts.

Wesley was lost. He had not seen Xander in months, since the ascension. In Sunnydale, while Xander had given him a hard time verbally, Wesley knew that he was just reacting to a perceived threat against his father figure, Giles. Wesley had learned to respect the boy's loyalty and recognized the seemingly ill timed humor he so often displayed, was his attempt at moral boosting. Wesley had regretted not making more of an effort to get to know the boy. Now, he might not have the chance.

Cordy was lost. Xander was always supposed to be around. He had survived nineteen years on a Hellmouth, he could survive anything. He had to. While they were no longer involved romantically, they were still friends and had been in communication with phone and emails since shortly after she had left for L.A., even while Xander had been on his "road trip" he had called her at least weekly, and sometimes more often, if he thought she needed him.

Xander was the one who had encouraged her to work for Angel, saying that the vampire would watch out for her and be there for her when she needed help. When Cordy had argued that she didn't need to be watched out for and she didn't need help, Xander had laughed, then said seriously, "We all need someone to watch our backs and we all need help sometimes. And, when he's not all soulless, Angel can be counted on to do both." Cordy had taken his words to heart, insinuating herself in Angel's investigation business, so she didn't have to ask for or admit to needing help. Now, Angel was her closest friend, besides Xander himself, and she had her ex-boyfriend to thank for that.

She couldn't let herself believe that he would do anything but live through this. She wasn't sure what she would do if he didn't.

Angel was lost. He had never been good with crying women, and now he had one in his arms. He could do nothing but hold onto her, because, he too, was reeling from the news the doctor had imparted. He had never really admitted it to anyone, but, he had admired the boy. Xander was loyal and brave and he never let his fears, or trivial things, like thousands of years old prophecy, stop him when it came to helping or protecting his friends. And Angel had secretly wanted Xander to be that kind of friend to him.

Truth be told, Angel had always been attracted to Xander. In fact, had Xander not acted so hostile to him when they had first met or shown the least inclination that he would be interested, Angel might have pursued the boy, instead of Buffy.

Now he just wanted the boy to live. He would even be happy to hear Xander call him "Deadboy" if it meant he would be okay.

Angel's mind went back to the earlier events of the evening. Who had hurt Spike and Xander? Why had Dru found them and brought them to him? Or, more specifically, why had the stars "told" her to find them and bring them to him? Why had they been together in the first place? Had they been together when they were taken? If so, why?

Angel knew a little of what had been going on in Sunnydale; Spike getting his chip and relying on the scoobies for help, but he hadn't thought that they hung out together on a regular basis. He knew Spike appreciated a sarcastic sense of humor and so did Xander, maybe they had developed a sort of witty banter acquaintanceship. He would have to ask Spike.

_Oh, Hell. I left Spike alone at my apartment!_

Admittedly, Spike probably wouldn't wake for a few more hours, he had a lot of healing to do, but, it was just never a good idea to leave Spike to his own devices, surrounded by your worldly possessions, which you might not want to lose. Okay, so it probably wasn't a good idea to leave Spike to his own devices, period.

Angel leaned back from Cordelia, after she had quieted a bit, "Why don't you and Wesley stay here and wait for the results of Xander's tests and I'll go back and check on Spike?"

"Oh no, Spike. He'll probably be really worried about Xander!" Cordy exclaimed.

"What? Why?" Angel was surprised.

"Angel, Spike and Xander are roommates and actually pretty good friends. Wouldn't you be worried if your friend, probably your only friend, were hurt?"

Angel had briefly entertained the idea that Spike and Xander hung out together, it hadn't really occurred to him that they might like each other and have an actual friendship. That was just weird. _I thought Xander hated vampires on principle alone? Now he is friends with SPIKE? What if he is more than just friends with Spike? What if he's not? Maybe he'd want to be more than friends with me? Whoa! Wait a minute, back it up Angel. Where did THAT come from? Must not think about it, set squishy feelings thought aside, in fact, pretend you never thought it, and concentrate on the matter at hand. Spike and Xander are friends!_

"Okay, Xander and Spike are friends. Got it. I'll just go check on Spike and fill him in on Xander's condition." Angel said numbly.

'Good idea. I'll see you in a few hours? "

"Yeah"

"Angel, if Spike is up to it, you might want to ask him if he knows what exactly is going on." Wesley suggested.

"Believe me, I will." Angel promised.

_Go pick up more blood, go back to the apartment and see if Spike is awake. Feed Spike blood. Ask Spike if he knows how they got here and why. Fill in Spike on Xander's condition._

_Oh. Crap. How was he going to tell Spike that Xander might not live?_


	4. Chapter 4 Spike Wakes Up

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 4 – Spike Wakes Up.**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing?

Summary: Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Angel made his way down the elevator, to his apartment, carrying a cooler full of blood, human blood. The blood was from the local blood bank, they often sold the blood they couldn't use. He liked to keep some on hand for bad injuries that wouldn't heal quickly on animal blood. He knew he would need to keep up his and Spike's strength for the days to come.

Inside the apartment, Spike was still asleep, but it was a natural sleep, not the healing, coma-like state he had been in earlier.

Angel watches Spike sleep for a few minutes, before the blond vampire senses the scrutiny and wakes up.

"Peaches, where am I and what am I doing here?" Spike asked.

"You're in my apartment in L.A. and you're here because Drusilla brought you here."

Spike sat up on the bed and took a moment to get his bearings, trying to figure out what had happened. Then it all cam rushing back and he demanded, "Where is Xander?"

Angel hesitated, not sure if he should tell Spike everything, but, he knew it would probably be really bad if he didn't.

"When Dru brought you both here, Xander was in pretty bad shape and he was bleeding internally. We called an ambulance and they took him to the hospital…."

"And, so he's going to be alright, yeah?" Spike asked, desperation in his voice.

"When we got to the hospital, the doctor's weren't sure where the internal bleeding was coming from, they were working on him and his heart stopped beating. It took a few minutes for them to restart it. They performed surgery to find and stop the bleeding. His liver and a kidney had been injured and they were able to fix them…."

"What else aren't you saying?" Spike was pretending that he wasn't fighting back tears.

"Whatever happened to you two, he was hurt very badly. There is some concern about a head injury problem, and I think I heard one of the doctors saying there was also some concern about lack of oxygen to his brain, while his heart was stopped. They aren't making any promises that he'll be okay and get better, or even that he'll live, and that's what worries me the most." Angel finished sadly.

Spike sat there shocked. Xander was his best and only friend. In honesty, he thought of the whelp as family, a brother. Xander was pretty much the only good thing he had going in his un-life, right now. Losing the boy was not a possibility, not to him.

Angel's un-beating heart ached at the look of utter desolation on Spike's face, like his world has just ended. Then, determination crossed his childe's features and Spike stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked.

"I'm going to see the whelp, aren't I, then I'm going to go find whoever, whatever, did this to him and tear them limb from limb." Spike gritted out.

"You mean you don't know who did this to you?"

"No, you mean you don't?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Angel practically shouted in frustration.

"Well, I thought maybe Dru would have told you."

"This is Drusilla we are talking about here."

"Oh, yeah." Spike was slight abashed. 'Didn't she say anything?"

"She said, and I quote, 'Daddy, the stars told me that Spike and the Kitten were in trouble. Miss Edith told me to go get them and bring them here, so that you could take care of them' and that's pretty much it, she told me she thought Xander was hurt on the inside and left."

"Sounds like my Dru." Spike admitted, with amusement.

"Why don't you know who did this, I mean, you were there?" Angel asked

"Cause I was bloody well unconscious for most of it, wasn't I? Only woke up right before Dru came, then she tossed me over her bloomin' shoulder and I conked out. Then I woke up to your duff face. So, no, I don't remember anything."

"Do you happen to remember how you became unconscious in the first place?" Angel struggled to hang on to his temper.

"We were out on patrol, yakking on about something, and something musta come up behind me, 'cause the boys eyes got wide and then everything went black." Spike struggled to recall anything else, but came up blank.

Angel considered this for a moment. Then, he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Spike, are you and Xander, you know, involved?"

Spike smirked at his sire, "Wouldn't you like to know, you tosser."


	5. Chapter 5 Bonding

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 5 – Bonding**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing?

Summary: Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings:

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Spike walked into the waiting room. He took one look at the Cheerleader and new that it was bad. Cordelia, someone Xander described as tough as nails with never a hair out of place, was sitting there looking so sad, her make-up smeared by tears and her long ponytail falling down .

If Queen C was sitting around looking like this, it had to be bad indeed.

"How is he?" Spike asked quietly.

Spike suddenly found himself with his arms full of said Cheerleader when, she threw herself into his arms, sobbing.

"Oh Spike, they said they couldn't find any signs of brain damage in his CAT scan, but he hasn't woken up. Why hasn't he woken up Spike?" Cordelia said, through her tears.

Spike awkwardly patted her back, stunned that the girl would seek comfort from him.

"Shhh, pet, it'll be okay. Our Xander, he's as tough and as hard headed as they come. He'll wake up soon. Probably just using this opportunity to catch a few more ZZZZs. You know how he is." Spike said, trying to convince them both.

Spike held Cordy for a few more minutes, then pulled back to look at her. Smoothing the hair from her face, he tried to distract her the only way he knew how, "Now, luv, I'm goin' go check on our boy. Why don't you go to the washroom and splash some cold water on your face and fix your make up. Oh, and run a brush through your hair, don't want to be scarring the poor boy for life when he wakes up, do we?"

Cordelia let out a shriek of dismay, grabbed her purse and ran for the nearest ladies' room, horrified that she had neglected her appearance for so long.

"Good Lord, was that really necessary?" Wesley asked.

"She's not weepin' o'er the whelp, now, is she?" Spike said simply, "Now, where is he?"

"That room over there." Wesley pointed.

Spike walked up to the door of the room, almost afraid to open it. He felt his sire walk up behind him and lay a hand on his shoulder. Then, Angel reached around him, opened the door and shoved Spike inside, following him in.

Spike opened his mouth to yell at his poof of a sire, when he got a good look at the bed, at Xander. His mouth closed abruptly. Not to keep in sobs or to stop a lip from trembling, nope, not to do that. Because Spike would never sob or have a lip trembling, so of course, it wasn't for that. His mouth closed because, well, because…._Oh, Bloody Hell! Fine, I'm a sobbing little, lip trembling baby, all right?_

Spike walked over to the bed and, much like he had done with Cordy, pushed a lock of hair out of Xander's face. The sight of Xander unconscious, hooked up to all those tubes, with barely an inch of him not covered in bruises or cuts, was more than Spike could handle. He sat down in a chair Angel had hastily shoved in his direction.

Angel had asked earlier if he and Xander were involved, they were, just not in the way Angel had been thinking. Xander was the first person to befriend him in a really long time, if not, ever. Xander was the closest thing he had to family since his mother was long gone and his vampire family had all abandoned him. If Spike were given to squishy feelings, he would describe their relationship as best friends/brothers. Xander was really the only person in this world that Spike mattered to. And he couldn't lose that.

Wesley, who had followed them in, offered, "At least he's breathing on his own. That's good."

"Yeah, that's bloody well great." Spike said sarcastically.

"I just meant…"

Spike waved him off, "Sorry mate, don't mind me, I'm being a right ass, I know. If Xander were awake he'd be telling me so, making me apologize and the like." Spike smiled sadly, "But, since he's not awake, that's as close as your goin' ta get."

"He really makes you apologize?" Angel asked, in amusement.

"Yeah, says I can't get what I want by scaring people into submission anymore, says I gotta try and get my way by doin' what regular people have been doin' since the dawn of time."

"Which is, what, being nice?" Wesley asked.

"Sorta, he called it being polite with a side of emotional blackmail."

"Now that sounds like the Xander I know." Cordy said from the doorway, "And don't think I don't know you learned the 'distraction by insulting Cordy's appearance" thing from him."

"He might have mentioned it was a pretty good way to get around you." Spike admitted.

"I can't believe he's telling you my secrets."

"Not really a bloody secret luv, probably would have figured that one out for myself soon enough."

Cordy and Spike looked at each other and a beat later, burst out laughing. Spike opened his arms and Cordelia surprised Angel and Wesley by walking over and sitting on his lap, wrapping her arms around him as he wrapped his arms around her.

"He's really going to be okay, isn't he Spike?" Cordy asked in a small voice.

"Course he is pet, course he is."

They fell silent as they looked at their mutual friend. Each a little amazed at how comfortable they felt with the other, but, Xanders love can be a pretty powerful bonding experience.

Angel was a little taken aback at the ease with which Cordy and Spike took to each other, jealous of the instant friendship and closeness. But, maybe, if he had ever let himself get close to Xander, ever tried to push past the barriers the boy had erected against him, he would be a part of that closeness now too.

Both Spike and Angel tensed when they heard Xander's heart beat speed up.

"Spike?" Xander's voice was weak and raspy.

"Yeah pet, I'm here." Spike answered, trying to hold back tears.

"You okay Spike?" Xander croaked.

Spike cleared his throat, which had not been clogged because he was overcome that the boy's first thought had been about his safety. Nope, it was clogged because, well, he had vampire allergies. _That was it, vampire allergies. Damn dust_.

"Course I'm okay, whelp, not much can keep me down." Spike answered after a moment.

"Where are we?"

"You're in the hospital, Xan. You were hurt pretty bad and they had to do surgery." Cordelia answered.

"Cordy?" Xander asked in confusion.

"You're in L.A. Xander." Wesley said.

"How'd we get to L.A.?" Xander asked.

"It's a long story." Angel offered.

"Angel?" Xander almost shrieked, then, after a moment, said, almost under his breath, "Oh, Bloody Hell."


	6. Chapter 6 I Really Hate Hospitals

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 6 – I Really Hate Hospitals**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing?

Summary: Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

"Someone has been spending way to much time with Spike." Cordelia teased. "You're even beginning to talk like him."

Spike snickered, not just at Cordy's teasing nor Xander's usage of one his phrases, no; he was mostly snickering at the look on Angel's face.

"Sorry, I was just a little surprised to find out where I was, especially since, last I remember, Spike and I were in Sunnydale." Xander said sheepishly.

"So, when can I get out of here?" Xander asked.

They all stared at him in shock.

"Xander, honey, you just had major surgery, you were also beaten very badly. You're not going to be getting out of here for awhile." Cordelia explained.

Xander's lower lip started to quiver, "But I don't like hospitals, I mean, I really don't like hospitals."

Angel and Wesley noticed that Spike and Cordelia were not looking directly at the lip quiver of doom, but were instead, focusing on Xander's pillow or a point on his shoulder. They both quickly followed suit, not wanting to be hypnotized by the pathetic-ness that was Xander's quivering lip. They were both sure that it could be used to persuade them to get him out of the hospital early, or take over a small country, if given half the chance.

"Whelp, put the lip away. We are not going to let you risk further injury by getting out of the hospital, before it is safe to do so. You can pout all you want, it's not going to work." Spike said firmly. Cordy, Angel and Wesley all nodded in agreement, being careful to avoid "The Lip".

"Then why won't you look directly at me when you say that?" Xander asked petulantly.

"Because we're not stupid." Angel responded.

The other three nodded in agreement. Wesley's eyes accidentally slipped to look directly at Xander's face. He quickly jerked his gaze away, "I'll just go let someone know you are awake." He said, as he headed out of the room.

On the other side of the door he paused and took a deep breath. _That was a close one; I'll have to be more careful in the future._ Then, he straightened up and headed for the nurses' station.

Inside the room, the others were not fairing much better. But, they stood their ground, they were strong. Or at least, as strong as any three people, who were terrified of a nineteen year-olds boy's pout, could be.

Xander saw they were not breaking, so he changed tactics slightly, adding puppy dog eyes, "But, I can't ever sleep in hospitals. How am I supposed to get better if I can't even rest?"

"One of us will be with you all the time, even at night. We'll take turns, you won't be left alone. You'll be able to sleep if you're not left alone, right?" Cordy asked. She understood that most of Xander's dislike of being in the hospital was being left there alone all the times he had been hospitalized as a child. A rush of anger hit her, as she thought of his childhood and those monster's that called themselves his parents.

Angel and Spike were startled by the smell of rage the former cheerleader was giving off. They realized the anger was not directed at Xander and both made mental notes to ask her about it later.

"You won't leave me here by myself?" Xander asked, hopefully.

"Not for one moment." Spike promised.

"Well, I guess, that would be okay." Xander said.

The door to the room opened and the doctor, who had treated and operated on Xander, came in.

"I heard a rumor that you had awoken, young man. My name is Doctor Hackman." The doctor said kindly. He had read the young man's medical files that had been sent over from Sunnydale. He was glad that none of these people were the boy's parents, as he was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to stop himself from performing unauthorized lobotomies without anesthesia on the two worthless pieces of flesh.

"Yep, I'm awake. Awake, and ready to get out of here." Xander said brightly. Or as brightly as he could sound, while his voice sounded like a frog's.

"Xander." Spike growled a warning.

"Xander, I understand that you don't want to be here, but for the time being, you have to be. You promise to follow my instructions and allow me to do my job as your doctor; and I promise to get you out of here as quickly was possible. Deal?" Doctor Hackman said, not unkindly.

"Deal. I guess." Xander said sullenly, and then a thought occurred to him, "Did you say your name was Doctor Hackman?"

The doctor let out a big sigh. "Please young man, don't start. It's been done to death, really. Yes, my name is Doctor Hackman. No, I do not hack into people, I perform very delicate surgery. However, if you start to make fun of my name, I may reconsider. Now let me examine you and then you can rest."

Xander managed to keep his mouth shut while the doctor examined him. At one point he made eye contact with Spike and had to bite his lip to keep from making a comment.

"Everything looks fine, your incisions are looking good, but, please, let someone know if they start to fell warm or overly tender, okay? I'll see you on my rounds tomorrow."

When the door closed behind the good doctor, Spike, Xander and Cordelia all broke out into giggles. Xander's were weak giggles and he had to be sure not to move too much, but they were giggles, none the less. Even Angel and Wesley snickered.

"He is a surgeon…..and….h-h-h-his n-n-n-name is 'Doctor Hackman." Xander gasped out, between what was now, full blown laughter.

That sent Cordelia and Spike off again, into peals of laughter.

After several minutes they all calmed down, careful not to make direct eye contact, for fear of setting each other off again.

"So, who is taking first watch?" Cordelia asked.

"I will."

They all turned to gape at Angel, for his almost eager sounding offer.


	7. Chapter 7 What?

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 7 – What?**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

"What?" Angel asked the group staring at him.

"You volunteered to be the first person to stay with Xander. Why?" Cordy asked.

"Well, most of you have been here all last night and today, so you're tired, Spike just recovered from some serious injuries and it'll still be dark when my shift is over, so when whoever relieves me comes, I can get home without frying myself." Angel explained logically.

"Oh, okay. That does make sense." Wesley agreed.

"I really am tired, and now that I know Xander's going to be okay, I can go home and sleep." Cordy admitted.

"I'm a bloody vampire myself. So when will I be able to visit Xander?" Spike growled.

"Why don't you take the next shift after mine, so it will still be dark out when you get here. While you are here with Xander, I'll research to see if there are any tunnel or sewer entrances close to, or in the hospital, so we can get you out without burning." Angel explained reasonably.

Spike eyed Angel suspiciously. He had always believed that Angel had had a thing for Xander and that Buffy was just his beard. He also knew a secret that Angel didn't know. Yes, he and Xander were at the secret sharing part of their friendship.

Xander had recently realized that he was bi, although he might be slightly more attracted to men than to women. Spike personally thought that after all the scary women Xander had been involved with in his young life; the boy had every right to want to try out guys.

Spike had heard about the Praying Mantis Lady, the Incan Mummy girl and the love spell, not to mention Cordy. From what Spike could gather, the two bints the boy had bedded, had actually bedded him. While Spike wouldn't exactly call it rape, he might call it less than consensual. Faith had apparently just thrown him down, road him like a pony and tossed him outside when she was done. Anya had shown up demanding sex, and Xander hadn't really known how to tell her no without risking his life or manhood. Afterwards, Anya had called him a 'Viking in the sack" and had announced that while he was very, very ,very good and well endowed, that she wanted to try girls, too.

So no, Spike did not blame Xander for jumping on the gaywagon. Although, Xander would probably stress that he was bi, not strictly gay.

Spike also knew another of Xander's secrets, not that Xander had told him. This secret, Spike had discovered while sharing a residence with him. Spike had woken one night, to hear some very specific sounds coming from Xander's room. Wanking sounds, as it were. And, whose name did Xander call during this little interlude of self love? The Broodmeister himself, Angel.

Now, Spike had to wonder why Angel was so eager to stay with the boy.

Spike didn't have to wonder why Xander was looking slightly panicked at the idea. The boy was probably afraid that he might say something in his sleep, or get aroused, and Angel would smell it. Spike had let Xander know awhile back, that that kind of thing could be smelled by a vampire's strong senses.

Cordelia was worried also. She and Xander had talked a while back about his sexuality. She didn't have a problem with it, in fact, she was greatful. She hoped Xander had better luck with guys than he had had with women, because Xander tended to attract very dangerous women who either treated him badly or tried to kill him, or both. She admitted to herself that she had acted badly when she had shunned Xander and hid their relationship in the janitor's closet. She hoped he would find someone who would treat him with the dignity, respect and love, that others hadn't, including herself, Buffy and Willow.

Cordy was mostly worried, because Xander had told her something he hadn't told anyone else: he was attracted to Angel and had been from the beginning, Unfortunately, Xander hadn't been able to realize it or understand that it was okay. So Xander had reacted to the unfamiliar feelings, with hostility. And since Angel had reacted in kind, they had developed an antagonistic relationship. Why would Angel suddenly want to be nice to him and help take care of him?

Wesley was a little concerned. While in Sunnydale, he had been too full of himself and the Watcher's Councils rules to actually pay attention to what was going on around him. Since then, he had learned to watch and take note of everything that was going on around him. He saw that Xander was no the verge of panic, and not because he was afraid of Angel. Something else was bothering the boy. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Angel, despite his calm and reasonable exterior, was freaking out. _Why did I volunteer to take first watch? Why do I want to take first watch? Why am I so frickin' eager to take first watch?_

Angel admitted to himself that he wanted to ask Xander about his and Spike's relationship. Okay, ask might not be the right word. Grill, might be the right word. He wanted to grill Xander about the boy's relationship with the blonde vampire.

He wouldn't, however, admit to himself, that he wanted to get to know the boy better. He didn't want to admit that he was jealous of the easy friendship Xander had with Spike and Cordelia, or that he was attracted to the boy, or that he might want the boy for himself.

Yes, Angel and denial, were well acquainted.


	8. Chapter 8 So

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 8 - So**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH Response to challenge from Sparky. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Xander tried not to stare at Angel. The others had gone home almost an hour ago. So far, he and Angel hadn't said more than two words to each other. While he certainly felt safe, he didn't feel comfortable.

"So." Xander began, not sure what he was going to say, but feeling the need to say something.

"So." Angel replied, not helping with the whole 'starting a conversation' thing.

"So….How exactly did I get here anyway?" Xander asked.

"Drusilla brought you."

"Can I just say….Huh?"

"Apparently, you and Spike were captured in Sunnydale and Dru had a vision or something that said she needed to help, so she found you and brought you to my office, one of you thrown over each shoulder, both of you unconscious."

"Spike was hurt? But, he looked okay." Xander said in distress.

Angel wondered once again what the relationship was between the boy and Spike.

"He was in pretty rough shape when Dru brought him in, but I gave him some blood and he was able to heal."

"Human." Xander murmured.

"What?" Angel asked in confusion.

"You gave him human blood? That's why he's all better?" Xander asked.

Angel was shocked, not sure how Xander knew that human blood was better at healing vampires, than animal.

"Yes, the local bloodbank…." Angel began.

"Yeah, they sell off the unusable blood. They do the same in Sunnydale, but, it's pretty hot property, that goes quickly. I don't think the blood banks there get very many donations, period. Must be all the involuntary donations that happen. I try and get some human blood for Spike when they have it, and when I have the cash. It's not often that those two circumstances coincide, but, when it does…. We save it for the really bad injuries. You know, the ones where animal blood just doesn't do the job?"

"Yeah, I know." Angel murmured, wondering how often his childe had been injured bad enough to require human blood and how much this boy had sacrificed so that he could have it, when he needed it.

"I don't think the animal blood is very good for Spike. He seems to be getting…not frail exactly, but, less sturdy looking." Xander struggled to explain.

"He may not be getting enough blood period, animal or not." Angel replied gently.

"Giles gets him some, and I try to get more whenever I can, and Spike won't say he needs more or better quality. I'm not sure what to do for him." Xander said, looking a little lost.

"I can help." Angel surprised them both with the offer.

"I can send some funds and you don't have to tell Spike where it comes from, and I'll call Willy and have him send you some blood regularly." Angel said.

"Yeah, I figured Willy would have some, but, Spikes not too popular there, because he helps us, and I'm not too popular there because, well, because I'm me and I hang with Buffy." Xander admitted.

Angel nodded his head in agreement and understanding. He wouldn't want either of them going there unaccompanied. "What about Buffy?"

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"Why doesn't she get blood from Willy, she could go with no trouble." Angel asked.

Xander laughed, but there was not humor, only bitterness. "If it was up to Buffy, Spike would starve to dust. She gives Giles a hard time whenever he supplies blood and I've learned to hide any of the good stuff when she comes over."

Angel was shocked by how unsurprised he was by this admission. Moving to L.A. had helped him remove his rose colored glasses, where the blond slayer was concerned. He wasn't sure if it was distance or time, but, he had begun to view her actions and behavior more objectively. He had discovered, that while he loved her, and a part of him always would, he wasn't sure if he liked her, most of the time. If she didn't want Spike to feed, she needed to put him out of his misery. Letting anything, human, animal or demon, starve to death, was cruel.

"Do you want me to have a talk with her?" Angel offered.

"No offense, but I don't think it would help, and it would probably make things worse."

"What do you mean?"

"She would see it as your taking Spike's side over hers and then she would just start being meaner to him than she already is. Plus, knowing her, she would think it was all about her and the breakup, and we would never hear the end of how much you still love her, even though she has moved on…." Xander halted on a blush.

"I know about Riley. Cordelia told me, not long after you told her. She thought I should know."

"Yeah, I thought you should, too. But, Buffy made me us swear not to tell you….but, she didn't make me swear not to tell Cordelia. If Cordy let spill, there was not much I could do about it, right? And I didn't break my promise."

Angel was touched that the boy would look out for him like that. He quickly suppressed the squishy feelings that thought brought.

"Thank you."

"I didn't do anything." Xander defended, with a little smile.

They both lapsed into silence.

After a few minutes of counting ceiling tiles and thumb twiddling, Angel surprised them both by saying, "I'm not still in love with her."

"Huh?"

"Buffy. I'm not in love with her anymore. I mean, I do love her, and care about her, but….I'm not pining away for her."

Angel was not sure, or at least he wouldn't admit to himself, why he felt the need to tell Xander this.

Xander was not sure why Angel felt the need to tell him this, and he wouldn't acknowledge the rush of pleasure and relief that Angel's announcement brought.

"So." Xander said.

"So." Angel said


	9. Chapter 9 Phone Call

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 9 – Phone Call**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Wesley parked Angel's car outside of Cordelia's home.

"Thanks Wes, I really appreciate the ride." Cordelia said as she opened the car door.

"It was my pleasure." Wesley said.

Spike snorted from the backseat.

Cordelia turned to head inside, then she stopped. "Oh my God!"

Wesley and Spike jumped out of the car. "What is it?" Wesley asked.

"We forgot to call Sunnydale." Cordelia said.

Spike and Wesley visibly relaxed.

"I'm sure they are very worried by now." Wesley said.

Spike snorted again.

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"They probably haven't even noticed we're gone yet. Bitchy and Witchy are so caught up with school and their own lives, they barely even notice the whelp exists, unless they want something from him, like makin' him take in a chipped vampire or go on a donut run. And if it doesn't have somethin' to do with the Slayer, or maybe Red, then the Watcher doesn't bother to pay attention." Spike said snidely.

"I'm sure they have noticed Xander's absence by now and are looking for you both." Wesley assured.

Spike snorted yet again.

"Both of you come in and I'll call Giles, that way if he needs more information, you might be able to provide it, Spike." Cordy ordered, I mean offered.

They made their way into Cordelia's home and Spike flopped down on the couch and Wesley sat in a side chair while Cordy made her call.

"Hello?" a bleary voice answered.

"Giles? It's Cordelia."

"Cordelia, what are you doing calling me in the middle of the night? Is there something that Angel needs my help with?"

"You could say that." Cordelia muttered, then louder, "Giles what are you doing in bed? Why aren't you researching or something?"

"Whatever for? There is nothing out of the usual realm of hellmouth activity going on right now."

Cordy couldn't believe it. _Was Spike right? Could they really not know that something had happened to Xander and Spike?_

"Giles, are you sure you aren't missing something, or two somethings?"

"Not that I know of, Cordelia, dear girl, could you get to the point of this middle of the night phone call, so I can get back to sleep?"

"You mean you're not missing a nineteen-year-old construction worker and a bleached, biteless vampire?"

Spike opened his mouth to protest, but Cordelia silenced him with a look.

"Not that I know of, why do you ask?" Giles answered, starting to sound concerned.

"When was the last time you saw Xander and Spike?" Cordelia asked tightly.

"A few days ago, I believe. Do you have reason to believe they are missing?"

"I can't believe it, Spike said you wouldn't even notice, but I didn't believe him. They both almost died, and you didn't even notice they were gone." Cordelia accused.

"Almost died? Whatever are you talking about?"

"Spike and Xander were kidnapped while out on patrol, they were beaten and tortured. Drusilla brought them to Angel's office. Spike was so weak and had lost so much blood, he was near dust, and Xander…."

"What about Xander?" Giles interrupted.

"Xander was in bad shape Giles, he was covered in cuts and bruises and bleeding internally. We got him to the hospital, but while they were working on him, his heart stopped." Cordelia paused at the horrible memory.

"Cordelia what…." Giles said, his voice finally filled with the concern he should have felt all along.

"They were able to get his heart restarted, thank God. He had to have surgery to repair the bleeding from his liver and kidney. He died Giles, he was dead for a couple of minutes and you never noticed he was missing."

"I…." Giles fumbled for words.

"He thinks of you as a father, Giles. He admires you so much. And you didn't even know he was gone. Well fine. You keep your precious Buffy and Willow. We'll keep Spike and Xander here, where people actually care what's going on with them." Cordy yelled and hung up on Giles.

She looked over at Wesley and Spike and promptly broke into tears.

"He didn't even know Xander was missing." She said between sobs.

Spike got up and wrapped his arms around crying girl. "Shh, pet. He woulda figured it out eventually. He does care for the whelp. I was just being a right git. Giles cares about what happens to Xander and 'e cares about what happens to you, too."

Cordelia cried even harder, amazed that Spike knew that she had been thinking that Giles wouldn't care if something happened to her either.

The phone rang, all of them stopped to stare at it.

"I can't…." Cordy began.

"Don't you worry; I'll take care of it." Wesley assured, giving Spike a look over Cordelia's head.

Spike ushered Cordelia over to the couch and sat down with her in his lap, comforting the former cheerleader with pats on the back and soft words.

"Hello?" Wesley said into the phone.

"Wesley?" Giles asked in surprise.

"Yes. How can I help you?" Wesley said stiffly.

"I was calling Cordelia back, she said…."

"She called you, sure that you would be worried sick about your missing charge, not realizing that you couldn't even be bothered to know he was missing. Upon realizing her error, she ended the conversation." Wesley said with ill-concealed disdain.

There was silence on the other end of the line, as Giles couldn't bring himself to deny the accusation.

"I know now, I care now. I need to know that Xander is okay, I need to know what happened." Giles said after a moment.

Wesley relaxed a bit, believing the older man to be genuinely contrite. "Xander is still in hospital. He is recovering from major surgery and a severe beating. The doctors were concerned about a head wound he had received, but have since decided that, while it was serious, there was no lasting damage. Angel is staying with him tonight and we will all be taking turns staying with him until he is released."

Giles let out the breath he had not even realized he was holding. "What hospital is he at? I can be there in a couple of hours."

"We have everything under control here, Mr. Giles. Why don't you take care of telling the others what has happened and possibly looking for the people or thing that did this?" Wesley said tightly.

"I will tell Buffy and Willow and we will be coming there to see him. We may have failed to recognize that he was missing, but we will not fail him anymore." Giles replied in an equally tight tone of voice.

"We will not be telling the boy that none of you knew he was missing. I'll not do that to him, and neither will you. I don't care what story you have to come up with to cover your ……. Just make sure that none of you mention that you couldn't be bothered to notice his absence." Wesley said.

"Thank you." Giles said.

"I'm not doing it for your sake." Wesley replied. He quickly filled Giles in on the hospital details and directions, then hung up.

Wesley turned to look at Spike and Cordelia, who were looking back at him.

"You did good, mate." Spike said.

"Thank you Wesley. I couldn't talk to him again." Cordelia said with a tear smile.

"We are not going to tell him right? I just, I can't imagine what that would do to him." Wesley said.

"No, Wes, we won't. It would hurt him too much." Cordelia assured him.

"Bloody hell, right we won't be tellin' the whelp that." Spike agreed.

The three nodded to each other in agreement, each separately planning on how to make one of the others tell Angel.


	10. Chapter 10 Giles

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 10 - Giles**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Words in _Italics_ indicate thoughts.

Giles slowly replaced the handset of his phone on its cradle.

He stared numbly at it for a moment. Xander and Spike had been taken and apparently, brutally beaten. Xander had very nearly died, had died for a few moments. _And I never noticed they were gone._

Giles shook his head to clear it a little. There would be time to dwell on his own poor behavior later, now he needed to contact the others and make plans to travel to Los Angeles.

He dreaded picking up the phone again.

He decided to call Tara, thinking he might be able to talk her into telling Willow and Buffy.

"Hello?" A soft voice answered tiredly.

"Tara, this is Giles."

"Oh, hello Mr. Giles. What's wrong? Is it about Xander?"

"What?...How did you?" Giles began haltingly.

"I noticed that we hadn't seen him or Spike since patrol the other night. I tried to mention it to Willow, but she said he would turn up eventually. I was starting to get worried, but I didn't feel like I could……" Tara said quietly, not sure if it was her place to tell Giles directly about her concerns for Xander and Spike.

"Please my dear, I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't talk to me. Please, always feel free to express your opinions in the future."

"It's just….he always calls to check up on us if we aren't going to see him that day and if we don't meet up after patrol, he calls to make sure we got home okay. He never called that night or the next day, or the day after. Is something wrong?"

"Tara, Xander and Spike were apparently abducted during patrol the other night, by whom, I'm not sure. Earlier, another vampire, Drusilla, brought them to Angel's office in L.A. I'm not sure of the details, or how she became involved, but I don't believe she was the one who took them in the first place. Both Spike and Xander had been beaten. Spike was very weak and Xander had to be taken to the hospital, where surgery was performed to stop some internal bleeding."

"Oh, no." Tara said softly, "Is he going to be okay?"

"I believe so. I was hoping we could gather up the others and go see for ourselves." Giles said.

"I'll go to Willow and Buffy's room and wake them. Should we tell Riley, or not?" Tara asked hesitantly.

"He and Xander have become friends of late, and he is even tolerant of Spike. With the Initiative closed, I can't see that they had anything to do with this. Although, Angel is helping to watch over Xander, so…."

"We could let Buffy decide? But, I think he should be told, I think Riley would want to be there, Angel or not. You're right, he and Xander have gotten close, I think it has something to do with Xander always being around girls and needing a guy friend." Tara said a smile in her voice.

Giles was amazed; this was the longest conversation he had ever had with the shy girl. "Why don't you go wake the girls, tell them to get ready to go, and I'll call Riley. I will be by in about an hour to pick you all up, and we will drive down together."

"That sounds like a good plan. Thank you Mr. Giles."

Giles hung up the phone with a slight smile. He really liked that girl.

He rang Riley next.

"Hello?" a sleep roughened voice answered after the third ring.

"Riley, this is Rupert Giles."

"Giles, is something wrong with Buffy?" Riley said, much more alert.

"No, Buffy is fine as far as I know….."

"Oh God, it's Xander isn't it?" Riley exclaimed.

Giles pulled the phone away and stared at it. How did they know when he himself hadn't?

"Mr. Giles?" Riley asked in the silence.

"Riley, how did you know?"

"I haven't seen Xander or Spike since we left for patrol the other night. He always calls the girls to make sure they're safe and then calls me to let me know everyone is okay. We both pretend he's not checking on me too." Riley said, a touch of a smile in his voice. "He didn't call and I haven't talked to him since. I tried to ask Buffy about it, but she blew me off, and I didn't think it was my place to go over her head to tell you, yet."

Giles sighed, first Tara, now Riley. How had he made these children feel like they couldn't talk to him, except through Buffy or Willow?

"I'm sorry Riley, I feel like I've failed you somehow. We might not always act like it, but this is a family, not the military, there is no rank involved. God forbid something like this ever happens again, please let me know. And always feel free to talk to me, even if it is not an emergency."

"I'll try to remember that. Now, what happened to Xander?"

Giles filled Riley in with as much information as he had and advised him on where they were meeting and when.

"Oh and Mr. Giles?"

"Yes, Riley."

"Who is going to call Dawn and Mrs. Summers?"

"Oh, Bloody Hell!"


	11. Chapter 11 If Momma Ain't Happy

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 11 – If Momma Ain't Happy….**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Giles took a drink of tea. He wished he were drinking something a bit stronger, but he would be driving later and he didn't want to risk overindulging. Because if it relieved him of making this phone call, he would willingly get arse-over-tit drunk.

He took another sip of tea and then picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" A sleep roughened voice answered.

"Joyce." Giles said.

"Rupert? What is it? Did something happen to Buffy?" Joyce asked, worry filling her voice.

"No, as far as I am aware, Buffy is fine." Giles replied.

"Oh, good." Joyce answered, then, a moment later, "Is it Xander?"

Giles was stunned speechless, it had happened again.

"Giles?"

"Sorry, Joyce. It's just…do you have cause to believe this is about Xander?" Giles said.

"Well, Xander knows that I still worry about Buffy out patrolling, even though she is living away from home. He usually phones me, even if it's the middle of the night to let me know what is going on and that Buffy and the others are fine. He hasn't called me in days. I had hoped it was because things were so quiet, that patrols weren't necessary, but I was beginning to worry. He usually checks in with me every few days anyway, to make sure Dawn and I are doing okay. Also, Spike hasn't been by for hot chocolate in at least that long. In fact, I had planned on calling you tomorrow, if I still hadn't heard from either of them."

Giles was ashamed of himself; he had never even considered checking in with Joyce. He realized that being a mother, particularly the mother of a slayer, was a role that didn't end when the child left home. He also needed to have a talk with Buffy, Xander shouldn't have to be the one calling Joyce to let her know that Buffy survived another patrol.

"Joyce, Xander and Spike had a spot of trouble……" Giles proceeded to fill Joyce in on the details of their abduction and condition, as he knew them. He was not surprised when she advised him that she and Dawn would be joining them on their trip to L.A.

"Giles, I hate to rush you off the phone, but I need to wake Dawn and get us both ready to go. I want to get there as quickly as possible. Xander really hates hospitals and I know that he is probably going to push to be let out much sooner than is safe and I just can't trust those boys or Cordelia to stand up to the lip quiver or puppy-dog eyes for very long." Joyce said, her voice tinged with both worry and humor.

Giles chuckled a little at that.

"Oh, and Giles, don't think we won't be having a discussion about why you were unaware that Xander and Spike were missing." Joyce said in a steely tone before she hung up the phone.

Giles stared at the phone in his hand and felt chills run up his spine. He was a man who had seen and experienced some truly frightening things in his tenure as a Watcher and his brief stint as a dark mage. Somehow, he did not believe that any of those experiences could compare with what he was about to face, a mother protecting her own. And Giles had no doubt that Joyce considered Xander and Spike to be hers.

He was buggered, no doubt about it.

Giles pulled his car into the parking lot near the girls' dorms, where he had arranged to meet everyone. He saw that Riley was already there, along with a friend of his, Graham, if Giles' memory served.

"Giles." Riley greeted as Giles exited his vehicle.

"Hello Riley, thank you for being prompt." Giles replied.

"I have to admit I was here a good 10 minutes early. You remember Graham? He's going to be coming with us. Oh, and he offered to drive his SUV, I figure with that and Joyce's jeep, we should be able to fit everyone." Riley said.

"Hello Graham, I didn't realize you knew Xander. And Riley, how did you….." Giles began.

"It didn't ever occur to me that Joyce wouldn't be coming." Riley said, the hint of humor in his voice didn't quite cover the edge of steel behind it.

"Sir, Xander, Riley, and I have been hanging out for awhile now, heck, even Spike joins us sometimes. Xander was really there for me after the whole thing with the Initiative went down. Damn right I'm going to be there for him now." Graham said, his soft tone belying the anxiety his eyes held.

Giles was humbled once again by the depth of loyalty and friendship that Xander inspired. He wondered when he himself had stopped showing the same for the young man.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I'm beginning to see that I haven't been paying close attention to a lot of things lately. I will endeavor to change that." Giles said.

The two young men looked him over for a moment, seemingly searching for something, perhaps proof of the veracity of his word. Whatever they were looking for, apparently they found it and nodded at him then turned towards the sound of another car approaching.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, the passenger door opened and a livid teenager raced towards them, pausing only to glare at Giles before she threw herself into Riley's arms. Giles could only shake his head sadly as he realized that yet another person had recognized what he had not. He wouldn't put it past the young girl to have questioned her mother as to why they were only now aware of what was going on.

"Riley, is he going to be okay? He has to be okay, right? He's Xander, Xander is always alright. Right?" Dawn said, tearfully, into Riley's shoulder.

Riley had wrapped his arms around the girl and was awkwardly patting her on the back.

"Of course Xander is going to be fine." Riley said, looking over her shoulder at the others for confirmation.

"Dawn, honey, Xander is going to be okay. We'll make sure of it. Now, you need to calm down and let Riley go before you soak his shirt right through." Joyce said as she untangled her daughter from the former soldier.

Riley smiled gratefully at Joyce.

They all turned at the sound of the others approaching.

Tara was leading a tearful Willow, while a bleary-eyed Buffy trailed behind.

Buffy was surprised to see her mother and opened her mouth to comment, but was cut off by Giles' curt, "Alright, let's all get into a vehicle and get going, we don't have time to dawdle."

Willow, Tara, Buffy and Riley got into Graham's SUV, while Dawn and Giles piled into Joyce's Jeep.

Graham took the lead and Joyce followed as they headed towards the interstate. They were all more than a little shocked when Graham pulled over not five miles past the city limits. Joyce pulled over behind him and they watched, speechless, as Graham, Riley and Tara got out of his vehicle and walked back to the Jeep. Graham opened Giles' door and pulled him out, handed him the keys to the SUV and pushed him towards it. Riley circled around to the other side and opened the door to climb in. Graham held his door open for Tara to climb in, and then climbed in after her. He turned to Giles and said, "I couldn't listen to them whine about how 'concerned' they are about Xander. They didn't even know he was missing. You helped create the monster Giles, you drive it to L.A."

Tara nodded her head in agreement and Graham shut the car door. Joyce pulled back onto the interstate, leaving Giles standing on the side of the road.

He turned towards the SUV, where the two girls had begun to screech in protest. He shook his head, and went towards the vehicle. He climbed into the driver's seat, adjusted it to fit his frame, and started the engine. He gave the girls a hard look, which temporarily silenced them, and pulled back onto the road.

"We have all been self involved and hurtful. We will not be telling Xander that we didn't notice he was missing, when all of the others did. We will not whine and complain about the relationships he has developed with the others while we have neglected him. We will be doing our damnedest to show him that we do care what happens to him. Willow, you will cease your crying; it is too little, too late. Buffy, this isn't about you, so don't try and make it so. We will be the friends to Xander that he never stopped being for us. If you don't think you can do that, tell me now. I'll pull this car back over and you can walk home." Giles' speech was met with silence from the vehicle's other occupants. He nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention to the road.

Things were definitely going to be different from now on.


	12. Chapter 12 What Angel Doesn't Know

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 12 – What Angel doesn't know.**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing. Also, Cordy has a spare room.

Thanks goes to my beta reader SublimatedAngel, who can be credited with a couple of lines in this story, plus, she just rocks.

Cordy walked out into her living room. She just couldn't manage to get to sleep. She was still upset about the phone call to Giles. They had all been a little disturbed so it was decided that Wes and Spike would stay overnight; Wes in the spare bedroom and Spike on the couch in the living room with blankets hung over the windows.

"Can't sleep, pet?"

Cordy started, having not realized that the vampire was awake.

"No, I'm still a little wired from the call to Sunnydale, even though I'm exhausted." Cordy admitted.

"I couldn't sleep none either. Come over here and keep me company." Spike said.

"By company you mean talk right, that's not some vampire code for bleeding me dry, is it?" Cordy asked.

Spike snorted, "Come over here you dozy bint."

Cordy smiled to herself, she knew Spike didn't really mean it as an insult. She walked over and sat down next to Spike. She wasn't surprised when he put an arm around her. She leaned into it and relaxed a bit. Xander had predisposed her to be comfortable in Spike's presence. Oh, she knew he was a vampire and evil and all that crap, but Xander had said she could trust him, even without the chip.

"So, are we going to let Angel be surprised when the Scoobies descend on the hospital or are we going to give him advance warning?" Cordy asked.

Spike snorted, "I've half a mind to let the poof get ambushed, but I suppose we could give him advance notice. We don't want him puttin' his big foot in it by askin' when they figured out we were gone."

Cordy nodded in agreement.

Spike nodded in agreement.

Neither of them moved.

"Well, I could go in for my watch a little early and tell Peaches then." Spike offered, feeling that procrastination was called for in this instance.

"Good idea." Cordy agreed.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, you gonna tell Angel you played pirate with Xander's booty?" Cordy asked out of nowhere.

If Spike had been drinking anything at that moment, it would have come shooting out his nose with Cordelia's comment.

"How? What? I don't know what you mean." Spike tried to brazen his way out.

"Hello? One of his best friends here. We talk or email almost daily. You don't think this is somethin' he told me?" Cordy asked with a smirk.

"Fine. Yeah, when the whelp told me he was gonna start battin' for both teams, I shagged him. Didn't wanna pass up a chance at a piece of my nummy treat did I?"

"Xander told me why you did it Spike." Cordy said with a smirk.

"I don't know what you mean." Spike said, completely denying everything.

"You wanted his first time with a guy to be with someone who would take care not to hurt him. He told me that you were very gentle and caring."

Spike folded. "Okay. Look, I know that it can hurt with a bloke if it's not done right, especially the first time. I couldn't hurt him, even if I wanted to. I just wanted it to be good for him, yeah?"

Spike winced as the memory of his 'first time' flashed through his head; Angelus was not known for consideration and gentleness for a very good reason.

Cordy winced in sympathy, knowing that Spike was probably speaking from experience, especially considering who his 'family' had been and who his 'first time' had likely been with.

"It was very nice of you. And from what I understand, very hot. Xander gushed for five pages in the email he sent me." Cordy said.

"Demon-bint wasn't lyin' about the Viking-in-the sack thing. Boy's got some really great moves and instincts." Spike's eyes started to glaze over at the memory.

"How come you aren't together?" Cordy knew Xander's version, but she wanted to make sure Spike was on the same page. Not that Xander would have lied, but the boy had a history of being clueless to other people liking him.

Spike sighed, "I ain't never had a mate like him. He's a good un', he is, and I just…..I didn't wanna mess it up. Nobody's ever wanted to just be my friend b'fore. And he's of the same mind about. We did actually talk about it. B'fore and after. We knew it was only gonna a be a one or two time thing goin' in. He wanted to do it for the first time with someone he trusted. I'm still….in awe of the fact that he trusted me that much."

"He's good at that, isn't he, loving you like a friend? Even when we were dating, the friendship was there. I was so glad that we didn't lose that completely." Cordy sighed.

"Do you regret not bein' with him now?" Spike asked curiously.

"I regret treating him like trash. I regret placing status before him. I regret not giving him a chance to explain about that night you kidnapped them. I regret not trusting him to still be my friend afterward. But I don't regret where my life is now, and our break up was the deciding factor for me coming to L.A. And we are way better friends than we were as boyfriend/girlfriend. I didn't love him like he deserved to be loved." Cordy admitted.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes.

"So, you think Angel has any idea our boy loves 'im, or is Xan gonna have to show up naked, lubed, and gift-tagged?" Spike asked.

Cordy was glad she wasn't drinking anything at that moment, cause it would have come shooting out her nose at Spike's question.

"I don't….. He wouldn't…..How'd you know?" Cordy sputtered.

"He's my flatmate, Cheerleader, you think I don't hear and smell things?" Spike asked with a smirk.

"Can I just say, eeeww?" Cordy scrunched up her nose.

Spike chuckled at having gotten the girl back for her earlier question.

Cordy started giggling. She understood why Xander enjoyed Spike's company, he was really fun to verbally spar with.

They both settled down after a few moments, enjoying the silence.

Until……"So, you gonna tell Angel about Xander's orgasm friend?"


	13. Chapter 13 Things Angel Should Know

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 13 – Things Angel Should Know**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing: m.m

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing. Also, Cordy has a spare room.

Angel was sitting in the chair beside Xander's hospital bed watching the boy sleep. Whatever drugs they had given the boy had knocked him out a few hours ago.

He hadn't worked up the nerve to ask Xander about his and Spike's relationship. From what little the boy had said, he and Spike were pretty close, at least as friends. Angel wasn't sure how he felt about that. Xander had always claimed to hate all vampires, including Angel himself, back in Sunnydale. Now he and a vampire were roommates and friends? Chip or no, it was still a pretty dangerous situation. Spike was a resourceful and clever demon. If he truly wanted to harm humans, he would find a way. The fact that none of the Scoobies had been injured or killed was a testament to the fact that Spike cared about them, in his own way.

Truth be told, Spike probably saw Xander as someone that needed looking after. He had looked after Drusilla for over a hundred years; it was a hard habit to break. Not that Xander was crazy like Dru, but he was someone who seemed to attract scary women, trouble, or a combination of the two.

And Xander was also a caretaker by nature and an intensely loyal friend. He was pretty much a sucker for someone in trouble and a vampire unable to defend himself against humans or get his own food would probably qualify.

Angel was drawn from his musings by the sound of the door opening; he already knew that it was his childe before he saw the platinum blonde head poke through the door.

"Angel," Spike greeted in a low voice, so as not to wake the bed's occupant.

"You're early," Angel pointed out, in an equally low voice.

"Yeah, about that, come out into the hallway, I need to talk to you about something," Spike said.

Angel followed Spike out of the boy's room.

"What?" Angel asked.

"The cheerleader called Rupes to tell him we showed up…"

"Oh God, I bet Buffy and Willow were beside themselves with worry," Angel interrupted.

Spike gave a sub-vocal growl.

"Yeah right, the 'Scoobs' didn't even notice me and the whelp were missin'. Took the Watcher completely by surprise. Don't care about meself so much, but the whelp, it would break his 'eart to know they hadn't missed 'im," Spike said.

Angel started growling, loudly. Spike put a hand on his arm to try and calm him down.

"The boy nearly died, you were almost dust, and they didn't notice you were gone?" Angel said with a snarl.

"Calm down Angel, Wes handled the Watcher and I imagine Joyce is gonna chew his arse a bit over it, too. We just don't want the whelp findin' out, so keep your mouth shut about it, 'right?" Spike said.

Angel took a moment to calm himself down.

"You and Xander aren't going back there. You're going to stay here. You can fight demons just as much here as you can there. You can both work for me. Hell, if Xander wants an outside job, we'll find him one, but you two are not going back to the hellmouth to be cannon fodder for those…..people." Angel spat out, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Spike smirked, but inwardly, he was glad that Angel wanted them. He and Xander both needed a place to belong and Sunnydale hadn't been that place in long while.

"Don't worry Peaches, Cordelia already told the Watcher he couldn't have us back. I don't know if he took her literally or not, but I think she meant it," Spike said.

"I knew I liked that girl," Angel said with a smile.

"Angel, I got somethin' else to talk to you about," Spike said reluctantly.

Angel raised an eyebrow in question, catching his childe's lack of enthusiasm.

"You know how you asked me about Xander and me? What our relationship was?"

"Yes, I remember. You didn't answer me," Angel replied.

"Well, me and the whelp, we're just friends. He's the first real friend I've had in a really long time, or ya know, ever. We both need to look after someone and be looked after ourselves. It's not a love thing, it's a family thing." Spike admitted.

Angel tried not to look as relieved as he felt. _Xander and Spike are just friends. I wonder if that means that I have a chance with the boy? Wait, why the hell a I thinking about this now? Xander's not even awake, and his… 'friends' from Sunnydale will be here soon. Now is not the time for thinking about my squishy feelings_

Angel's self-lecture was interrupted when Spike continued, "But, when the boy decided that he liked blokes too, I didn't want him to….be hurt the first time."

Angel growled, "Spike, what are you saying?"

"I didn't want his first time with another man to be like mine was," Spike said softly.

Angel winced. As Angelus, he had taken it upon himself to 'break the boy in right and proper'. Of course, to Angelus, 'right and proper' meant force and pain and blood. William had cried and struggled the first time Angelus had forced him, and it had taken days for the fledge to heal from the rape, and the beating and whipping that accompanied it.

"So you slept with him? Are you still sleeping together?" Angel asked.

"NO! It was just that once, he wanted to know what it was like and I wanted him to have a good first time. And it was, but… we both knew that it wasn't any more than that. If anything, it made us appreciate the fact that we were just friends and that we didn't feel anything more for each other," Spike said.

"You seem to have inherited the Scooby tendency to babble. Luckily, you don't need to breath," Angel said, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I know you like the boy and he's not immune to your charms either. I just wanted you to be prepared if the subject ever came up," Spike replied.

"Xander likes me?" Angel asked quietly.

"You are such a ponce," Spike said with a smirk.


	14. Chapter 14 En Masse

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 14 – En Masse**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing: m/m

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing. Also, Cordy has a spare room.

Last Time:

"_Xander likes me?" Angel asked quietly._

"_You are such a ponce," Spike said with a smirk._

Angel opened his mouth respond to Spike's insult, but was stopped by a familiar scent: the hellmouth taint.

"Saved by the White Hats," Spike muttered under his breath.

Both Angel and Spike turned towards the smell, waiting for the rest of the Scoobies to make their appearance.

They didn't have to wait long as the elevator door opened to reveal the slightly motley looking crew.

Joyce was first out of the elevator, flanked by Tara and Dawn, followed closely by Riley and a man with military bearing whom Angel didn't recognize, but would have been a fool not to visually appreciate.

They moved purposefully down the hall, followed by a weary Watcher and two sullen girls.

Joyce stopped a few feet away from the two vampires and did a quick once over of Spike to assure herself that he was okay. Without a word she reached into her large tote bag and pulled out a thermos and a little plastic bag and handed them to Spike.

Angel was a little bewildered when Spike opened the thermos and the aroma of chocolate filled the air, and his confusion grew when Spike dumped the contents of the little plastic bag into the hot chocolate and just stared at the little white bits for a moment before taking a sip from the thermos.

"Ta ever so much, mum," Spike said after the first lusty gulp of Joyce's famous hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Joyce smiled indulgently at Spike. "I thought you might need a little pick me up."

Joyce turned her gaze to Angel and demanded quietly but sternly, "Tell me."

Angel gulped and took a deep unneeded breath; he recognized the mama bear instinct and took a moment to send thanks to whatever deity was listening that Xander had someone like Joyce in his life to make up for those waste-of-space parents of his.

"He's asleep right now, they gave him what he called 'happy pills'. He was awake for a little while and we talked for a few minutes…" Angel said before he was interrupted by a derisive snort.

"What did you have to talk about? You hate each other," Buffy said snidely.

Angel's eyes flashed and he growled a bit, but when he opened his mouth to respond, he was cut off by an angry soldier.

"Buffy, I wouldn't talk right now if I were you; you haven't paid enough attention to Xander recently to know how he feels about anything. And Angel was here and helped Xander and Spike, so why don't you let him talk and you keep your mouth shut until you have something helpful to say."

Angel and Spike stared in shock at Buffy's boyfriend, surprised that he had stood up to her and put her in her place in front of the others. They also noted the nods of approval Riley was receiving from Joyce, Dawn, Graham and Tara. Even Giles had a Ripperish glint of approval in his eyes for the man. Buffy, seeing that she would find no support from that quarter, turned towards Willow, who was shaking her head sadly at Buffy with a slight air of superiority.

"D-Don't you start Willow, i-it's not like you've been much b-better," Tara said softly.

Willow bowed her head in shame.

Angel shook off his shock and continued his explanation, "As I was saying, we talked for a few minutes before he was given the sleep medication. He's resting quietly now. The doctors are 'cautiously optimistic' about his condition. I'm not sure what you've been told about what happened, but….."

The group listened as Angel told them about Xander's injuries and treatment. They all teared up when he described Xander's heart stopping and subsequent resuscitation. He also warned them about Xander's battered appearance.

"I would like to say it looks worse than it is, but I'd be lying. He may not act like it, but he's in pretty bad shape and it will take awhile for him to recover," Angel said quietly at the end of his recitation.

"But, he's gonna be okay right, I mean he's Xander, he has to be okay," Willow said, her tone bordering on hysterics.

"He just had major surgery to repair tears in two major organs, among other things. At this point, we just have to wait and see," Angel said solemnly.

"Of course he is going to be okay. We won't accept anything less," Joyce said with conviction, her eyes daring anyone to contradict her, "Now, the real question is whether he has tried to get you to get him out of the hospital early."

Both Spike and Angel turned self-conscious gazes to the ground, each knowing there had been a point when they had almost given in to Xander's pleadings.

Tara tried to suppress her giggle at the sight of two master vampires being cowed by Mrs. Summers.

Spike gave Tara a playful glare before he admitted, "He used puppy-dog-eyes and the pitiful-pout-of-doom. But, we didn't give in, we stood strong! Okay, so there was a near miss or two, but still, we resisted."

Angel nodded in agreement and offered, "It helps if you don't look directly at him."

Joyce just shook her head and shared a look with Tara that basically said, _Amateurs._

Dawn didn't even try to suppress the giggles that erupted from her. "Oh come on, Mom, it's not like you haven't fallen for the puppy-dog-eyes. I guess it's just coincidence that Xander gets extra butter on his popcorn whenever he comes over for movie night."

"Movie night?" Willow and Buffy said at the same time as they looked at each other in confusion; they thought movie night had ended when they had started college.

The others ignored Buffy and Willow as they chuckled at Joyce's blushing in response to Dawn's teasing.

"What can I say, the boy is good," Joyce admitted.

After the chuckles settled down, Joyce straightened her shoulders and turned to Angel. "I'm going to go in to see him."

"I'm sure he'd like that very much," Angel said as he opened the door for the woman who had more than earned his respect.

He closed the door behind her when Buffy and Willow tried to push forward to follow her.

"He can't have too many visitors at once and don't even think you'll be allowed in there before anyone else. From what I can tell, the others have more than earned the right to precede you two. And you are definitely not going in there before we have a little talk about your conduct once you are allowed into his room," Angel said, barely managing not snarl at the two presumptuous girls.

Buffy tried to brazen her way out by giving her patented, 'I'm the slayer' look and saying, "Who are you to tell us we can't visit our best friend?"

She ignored the various snorts that came from the group around them. She just couldn't understand why her Angel was talking to her this way.

"Oh, didn't I mention? I'm Xander's new boss. I've hired him and Spike to work for my investigation firm. And since I'm going to be paying his hospital bills, I think I have some rights as to who visits him, especially if I think that person could hinder his recovery," Angel said. He grabbed Buffy and Willow by the arms and dragged them towards the visitor's lounge, wanting privacy for the previously mentioned 'talk' he intended to have with the girls.

He ignored the open mouthed stares coming from the rest of the group, especially Spike.


	15. Chapter 15 Poor Baby

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 15 – Poor Baby**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing: m/m

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing. Also, Cordy has a spare room.

Joyce looked down at the young man lying in the hospital bed.

Practically every inch of him that was visible was covered in bruises and cuts.

Joyce reached out to brush back a lock of dark brown hair from his face, careful not to touch the scrape that the hair had concealed.

Joyce eyes filled with tears; she was alone in the room with Xander, away from the group of 'youngsters' who looked at her like she was super-mom with the answers to everything. Away from their scrutiny, she let the tears fall silently down her cheeks.

_My poor baby._

She wanted to grab Xander and hug him, but she knew that would just hurt him more, and she wasn't sure any of them could handle him being injured any more than he already was.

Joyce knew that Xander was considered 'just a regular guy' because he was without any super-powers. And though she worried about him and all the Scoobies getting hurt, it never really seemed like it would or could happen to Xander. But here he was, seriously injured. Hell, he had nearly died.

Joyce was harshly reminded of her own daughter's mortality.

_If he could die, then so could Buffy. _

Oh, Joyce knew that Buffy had died for a few moments a few years ago, but Xander had been there to bring her back, and she hadn't known about it until much later. If Xander wasn't there to be Buffy's rescuer, who would be? Would any of the others go to the lengths he went to for a friend? She knew he didn't just do it for Buffy; anyone he considered a friend got the same white knight treatment.

Joyce had always felt a little better letting her baby girl go out to fight monsters when she knew that Xander would be at Buffy's side to make sure she came home. Not that Buffy was the only reason that Joyce was upset over Xander's injuries, far from it. She valued Xander for himself, loved him and worried over him like he was her own child.

And somewhere along the way, Xander had become hers. Her son, friend, baby-sitter, hero, caretaker, lawn-boy, handy-man, whatever. At one point or another he had been all of that to her, for her. Even co-parent, once; when Dawn had been mouthing off to her one day, Xander had said, "Don't speak to your mother in that tone of voice," and suggested that the girl might benefit from some time in her room to "think about how lucky you are to have a mother that gives a damn." After Dawn had stomped up to her room, Xander had apologized for saying 'damn' and said that Dawn should appreciate her 'momness' more.

And she had tried to be the mom he needed her to be for him, but she didn't think she could ever give to him as much as he gave to her, as much as he gave to all of them.

But she could try harder. She would try harder.

Joyce wiped away her tears and straightened her shoulders, determined to be strong for Xander like he had always been for her.

A small groan brought her attention back to the bed. Xander's eyes fluttered open.

"Momma Joyce? Whatcha doin' here?" Xander asked blurrily.

"I'm here to help take care of you," Joyce said as she reached to gently take hold of his hand. She was a little surprised at her new nickname, but flattered as well.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Xander woozily beamed in Joyce's direction.

"Does that mean you can get me out of here?"

Joyce gave Xander a patented 'mom' look and said, "Alexander Harris, you will stay in this hospital until the doctors see fit to release you, and you won't be getting out a moment before that."

If anything, Xander's smile got even bigger and he weakly squeezed her hand a bit.

"Luv you Momma Joyce, you're the best mom ever," Xander mumbled as he fell back to sleep.

Joyce blushed a little and felt her eyes grow damp again. She wondered when the last time somebody other than herself had mothered the boy was. Sometimes she thought that people should have to be licensed to be a parent. But she knew if that were the case, that Xander wouldn't be here because there was no way his parents would have passed the test. So she was glad that licenses weren't required for parenthood, because she was very glad to have Xander Harris in her family's life.

Out in the hallway a glowering Angel walked back to the group standing outside Xander's room trailed by two very unhappy girls. The group was very happy that they hadn't been the subject of Angel's 'talk' with them, even though they were all dying to know what had been said. Even Spike, because Angel had taken the girls far enough away and spoken low enough that Spike's vampire hearing couldn't pick it up.

Riley and Tara looked at each other and sighed the sighs of the long suffering, both aware that they would probably be hearing all about it later, in great detail.

Just as Angel opened his mouth, probably to ask about Joyce, another person rushed down the hallway toward them.

"Is he okay? Where is he?"

Most of the group stared at the new person in shock.

Willow broke the stunned silence by practically shouting, "Oz?"


	16. Chapter 16 Friends & Logistics

Title: **Written In The Stars, Part 16 – Friends and Logistics**

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing: m/m

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and  
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up  
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them  
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing. Also, Cordy has a spare room. And the Hyperion thing happened earlier than the blowing up thing, because I need a place to house all these people, so I can pull them out to play with them at my will.

Last Time:

_Just as Angel opened his mouth, probably to ask about Joyce, another person rushed down the hallway toward them._

"_Is he okay? Where is he?" _

_Most of the group stared at the new person in shock._

_Willow broke the stunned silence by practically shouting, "Oz?"_

Oz looked at Willow for a moment, then turned to Tara and repeated his question.

"Is he okay?"

Tara smiled that sweet smile of hers and nodded.

"H-he's going to be. D-did Cordelia tell you what was going on?" Tara said, ignoring the looks of astonishment she and the young werewolf were receiving.

"She did," Oz confirmed.

"J-Joyce is in with him now; h-he can only have a couple of visitors at a time. We haven't figured out who is g-going after that, b-but we can add you to the l-list," Tara said.

Oz smiled a bit at Tara's teasing.

"I'm guessing Cordy didn't tell anyone she called me?" Oz said, nodding towards the other Scoobies, past and present, who were watching their conversation, heads going back and forth like at a tennis match.

Tara smiled. "I-I guess not."

Oz gave a half smile and turned towards his audience.

"Cordy called me," he said with his typical lack of loquaciousness.

"Why?" Buffy asked bluntly.

"She knew I'd want to know."

"Why do you care? And why are you talking to Tara like you like her?"

"Buffy!" Giles said in warning.

"I care about my friends," Oz said simply.

The older members of the Scooby gang, not elderly, but those who had been around the longest, just stared at him. The others were mostly just confused by the situation.

Oz finally took pity on them and explained, "Xander usually calls me every couple of weeks and emails me almost every day to check in with me. When I stopped hearing from him, I emailed Cordy to see if she knew if anything was up, and she called me back. I was on my way to L.A. for a gig anyway, so I headed straight here. And Tara and I are friends."

"The last time you were in Sunnydale, you attacked Tara," Willow pointed out.

"H-he called me to a-apologize, l-later. X-Xander gave h-him my number. W-we keep in t-touch," Tara said in defense of her friend.

"You gave Xander your number, but not me?" Willow accused Oz.

"I didn't give Xander my number," Oz said.

"Then how did he first get in contact with you?" Giles asked.

Oz shared a slight smile with the other fringe Scoobies before he responded, "Xander works in mysterious ways."

No one knew quite what to say to that.

Just then, Joyce stepped out into the hallway. She glanced over the group, raising an eyebrow at the newest arrival, but not commenting or seeming really surprised.

They all looked at her expectantly, even Angel and Spike, who had already seen Xander.

"He woke up for few moments, but he was pretty groggy, so I'm not sure if he'll even remember talking to me, but he did. He may use the 'happy pills' as an excuse not to remember that I told him he won't be getting out of the hospital early, but I'll remind him if necessary," Joyce said with a smile.

"H-how did he look?" Tara asked.

Joyce hesitated for a moment before she spoke, "I'll be honest, he looks bad, so be prepared."

Tara nodded her thanks for the warning.

Joyce nodded back, then straightened her shoulders and addressed them all, "Now you will all get a chance to visit him, so don't worry. However, he is still asleep, so we can peek at him now and wait to try and talk to him when he is a little more conscious, okay?"

She turned to Angel. "We didn't really get much sleep last night, would you know of a place that we could get some rest?"

Angel smiled, "Actually, I do. We ran across an abandoned hotel a few weeks ago and have been slowly trying to make it inhabitable, not as a working hotel, but as an office and home. We haven't moved in yet, but we finally got it cleaned and several of the rooms have beds and linens. And the utilities are on, so you have facilities."

"That sounds perfect," Joyce agreed.

"Okay, why don't you guys get your look at Xander, then we can head over there. Spike just got here to start his watch shift, so I'll take you over myself," Angel offered.

The man Angel hadn't yet been introduced to stepped forward, "I would like to volunteer to stay with for Spike's watch. We still don't know who did this to them and they could still be a threat. If they're human, Spike might need help. Plus, someone needs to keep Spike out of trouble."

"Oi, I'm not the little bit, I don't need a baby-sitter," Spike said in mock indignation at Graham's words and accompanying smirk. Secretly, he was relieved; the soldier boy had a point about the human thing and he'd proven to be decent company in the past few months.

"Hey! I don't need a baby-sitter either," Dawn said in typical adolescent frustration.

"And you are?" Angel asked Graham, ignoring both Spike's and Dawn's outbursts.

Riley answered for him, "This is Graham, a friend of ours, and we used to work together."

Graham offered his hand to Angel, who only hesitated a moment before shaking it.

"Nice to meet you, Angel," Graham said.

"You too," Angel replied. He had caught the Initiative reference, but he figured if Spike was comfortable enough to joke with him, then he would let it be.

Joyce spoke up again, "Okay, Riley, Tara and Dawn, you are up first for your Xander fix. Oz and Graham, you're after them. Giles, Buffy and Willow are after that. Then we'll head over to the hotel."

Buffy and Willow opened their mouths to object, but quickly shut them when they received deadly looks from pretty much everyone.


End file.
